The remnant Hempstead Plains are the only remaining example of this unique grassland community that historically was the largest sandplain grassland on the East Coast. It represents one of the most rapidly vanishing habitats in the world, along with scores of birds, butterflies, and other animals that are vanishing with it. The Hempstead Plains is considered a unique, globally imperiled (G1) community by The Nature Conservancy. The Hempstead Plains support two natural populations of sandplain gerardia and one experimentally-introduced population. The Hempstead Plains also support the westernmost occurrence of the bushy rockrose and other regionally rare plant species including green milkweed, flax-leaf, tick-trefoil, pine barren gerardia, midland sedge, few-flowered nutrush, stargrass, and slender beadgrass. The handmaid moth occurs at Hempstead Plains on its food plant, staggerbush. The Nature Conservancy, New York State Department of Environmental Conservation, Friends of the Hempstead Plains, and the Nassau County Department of Parks and Recreation are working together to save 62 acres of the former prairie. These prairie fragments are now considered a Natural Heritage Site.
A micro cache is hidden along the fence bordering this preservation/restoration area. You are looking for a small, bison cache which contains a log only. This is NOT designed to be a park ‘n grab cache. Please DO NOT attempt to stop by the side of the road and dash out from your car. However, this area is bordered by two very busy roads and a sometimes-busy bike path. There is ample free parking within a few hundred feet of this cache on any of the nearby side streets. Keep your eyes on the street you are crossing – and not on the GPSr. If you are caching with children, keep them nearby. Please share your observations when you log your find … what do you see when you look out over the plains? What do you think it was like many years ago? What do you envision it will look like in the future?